Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd initiated a large new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter, buying 175,755 shares valued at about $58.4 million and ending with roughly 0.72% ownership.
• Lithia Motors reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.34 versus the $7.06 consensus and revenue of $9.27 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share from $0.55.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but constructive overall: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $367.22, even as some firms trimmed targets or downgraded ratings.

Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 175,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,409,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd owned about 0.72% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,272,000 after acquiring an additional 45,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,349,000 after acquiring an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $651,000.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.8%

LAD stock opened at $276.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. The business's 50 day moving average price is $267.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.91. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LAD. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.22.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company's core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.

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